Industry Insights

The global Automotive Electronic Control Unit (ECU) market size was estimated at USD 33.50 billion in 2016. Automotive With increasing adoption of advanced safety systems and assisted driver assistance functions, features such as blind spot detection, and automatic emergency braking at lower costs are expected to boost the growth of the automotive ECU market. Moreover, the growing consumer preference for luxury and hybrid vehicles, rising deployment of infotainment systems are also the key factors surging the demand for ECUs over the forecast period. ECUs are microcomputers or embedded systems that control the vehicular functions related to engines, infotainment systems, and ADAS using the data received from installed sensors and components.

Owing to ongoing technological advancements in the semiconductor and electronics industry, the price of electronic components has dropped due to substantial growth in the demand, and is expected to fall over the next five years. This fall in prices is subjected to the consolidation of ECUs, which converges various ECUs into a single advanced ECU that can control multiple hardware functions. The process reduces the overall vehicle cost, weight, and also saves the space utilized by multiple ECUs before consolidation. For instance, Visteon Corporation is integrating its user-friendly Human Machine Interface (HMI) combining instrument clusters, head-Up Displays (HUD), and ADAS into its SmartCore consolidated ECU.

Furthermore, in order to reduce the risk of accidents, the regulatory bodies of various countries and regions are mandating the installation of automated safety systems, and anti-lock braking systems in a vehicle, thereby, proliferating the automobile ECU industry. For instance, the European Commission and China launched New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), which mandates the use of automatic emergency braking, and lane departure warning, thus, implementing the wide-scale adoption of active safety systems. Moreover, the formation of AUTOSAR alliance standardizes the approach to develop and design layer between application software and ECU hardware. Thus, resulting in improved flexibility and scalability while integration, and transfer of functions including upgrades/updates, and maintenance.

Owing to the growing year-on-year demand for automotive vehicles and stringent regulations from government of China, the U.S., Mexico and the European Union pertaining to fuel emission, companies have started focusing on reducing the number of ECUs in a vehicle. For instance, China has laid down regulations for automotive manufacturers and importers, slated to be effective from April 2018. The regulations focus on reducing energy consumption of passenger cars and maximizing the sales of new energy vehicles, including plug-in hybrid and fully electric cars.This has resulted in a positive technological shift toward combining various ECU systems into one single unit that can act as a central control unit, thus saving cost and space, and improving the fuel emission statistics and vehicle performance. Therefore, adoption of such technologies within the business is anticipated to propel the industry growth in the future.

Additionally, the growing awareness amongst the consumers regarding the reduction in fuel consumption has led to a substantial increase in demand of electric vehicles. These vehicles comprise various electronic components such as ECU to supplement the enhanced driving experience, lower power consumption, and higher vehicle performance. Therefore, the demand for ECU is also expected to flourish over the forecast period.

Asia Pacific dominated the market throughout the forecast period. The growth in the region can be accredited to the rising penetration of high-end luxury vehicles along with the growing focus on the production of automated vehicles with advanced driver assistance and active & passive safety features. Governmental and financial organizations are making investments and granting loans for increasing the number of automated vehicles in the developing countries.

Application Insights

The ADAS & safety system application captured the largest market share, accounting for 28.1% of market share in 2016 and is anticipated to reach USD 9.63 billion, growing at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2017 to 2025. The technological advancements in ADAS design such as sensor fusion has alarmed the need for its use in the vehicles. Sensor fusion process takes input from multiple external sensors regarding the obstructions around the vehicle, thus computing the data and listing the possible actions and reactions to be taken by the driver.

Significant developments in voice navigation systems, display units, touch screen controls, and intelligent driver distraction systems are enhancing the customer’s experience with in-vehicle entertainment systems. Therefore, the automotive ECU market for infotainment application is expected to grow swiftly at CAGR of 9.2% from 2017 to 2025. Additionally, the integration of smartphones with automotive infotainment systems is expected to drive the increasing demand for infotainment systems in the vehicle, thereby, escalating the adoption of ECUs for infotainment applications.

Regional Insights

Asia Pacific was the leading market and accounted for around 41.5% of the overall market revenue in 2016. The growth in the region can be accredited to the growing penetration of high-end luxury vehicles along with the growing focus on the production of automated vehicles with advanced driver assistance and active & passive safety features. The growth of automotive ECU in Asia Pacific market is also driven by factors such as rising automotive investments in emerging economies such as India, Vietnam, and South Korea, and increasing disposable income of consumers. Additionally, Governmental and financial organizations are granting loans for increasing the number of automated vehicles in developing countries.

Europe is the fastest growing market for ECUs and is expected to proliferate at a CAGR of 7.3% over the next eight years. Economies such as Germany, the UK, and Spain have been experiencing strong economic growth, due to the presence of large number of automotive manufacturers and suppliers. Moreover, the growing technological user base, and significant development in consumer preferences are anticipated to drive the industry growth.

Automotive ECU Market Share Insights

The global automotive ECU market is moderately competitive and concentrated, with top three companies accounting for the maximum share of the global production in 2016. Key market participants include Continental AG, Denso Corporation, Delphi Automotive PLC, Robert Bosch GmbH, and ZF Friedrichshafen AG. In an attempt to gain a competitive edge and capture a significant share in the market, automobile manufacturers carry out strategic alliances and collaborations with ECU component OEMs.

The number of firms operating in the automotive ECU market is limited. The aggressive and innovative attitude of existing players to grab a larger market share is leading to fierce competitive rivalries. Large companies are striving to retain their market share and maintain their market position. On the other hand, moderately sized companies are facing immense competition in order to target prominent automotive manufacturers. For instance, companies such as Robert Bosch GmbH, Delphi Automotive PLC, Continental AG are collaborating with automotive giants such as BMW AG, AUDI AG, and Volkswagen in order to develop automated driving platforms, considering ECU consolidation to maintain a strong foothold in the automotive industry that is witnessing dynamic changes.

If you need specific market information, which is not currently within the scope of the report, we will provide it to you as a part of customization

Segments covered in the report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional & country levels and provides an analysis on the industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2025. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global Automotive ECU market report on the basis of application and region: